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Less than a week to go until No Smoking Day

Thousands of smokers across Sussex are being encouraged to make the biggest improvement to their health and go smokefree next week on No Smoking Day.

Currently almost one in five adults in West Sussex smoke, but national figures show that two out of three smokers want to stop.

Next Wednesday is No Smoking Day – Wednesday 13 March – and local NHS and Wellbeing teams will be out and about across Sussex next week encouraging people to go smoke-free.

On the day, Arun Wellbeing will be at Bognor Library giving out information and advice regarding stopping smoking (as well as general wellbeing) between 10am and 2pm.

Chichester District Wellbeing will be at Sainsbury’s in Chichester from 9am – 3pm and in Chichester Library from 10.30am – 1.30pm.

The Sussex Community Trust’s stop smoking team will also be visiting a range of venues across the county. Come and meet them at:

Crawley
Reception at Crawley Hospital, West Green Drive.

Horsham
Reception at Horsham Hospital

Mid Sussex
The Dolphin Leisure Centre, Pasture Hill Road, Haywards Heath
Princess Royal Hospital, Lewes Road, Haywards Heath

Chichester
Sainsburys, Westhampnett Road
St Richards Hospital, Spitalfield Lane, Chichester

Bognor Regis
Tesco, Shripney Road, Bognor Regis
Boots, London Road, Bognor Regis

Worthing (on Thursday 14 March)
The Fire Station, Lancing Business Park

Anna Kirk, Tobacco Control lead for the NHS in West Sussex, said: “We want to encourage smokers to set a date and use No Smoking Day as the start of their journey to becoming smoke-free.

“Making the decision to go smoke-free is one of the most important things you can do for your health and wellbeing, and that of your family. Giving up cigarettes will improve your health and the health of your family almost immediately – within 20 minutes of stopping smoking your blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal, and within two days there is no nicotine left in your body.

“If you do want to stop smoking, let us help you achieve your goal. It is proven that NHS help really does work and you are around four times more likely to successfully stop smoking by using NHS help than if you go it alone."

Stop smoking support

There are more than 150 places in West Sussex where you can get free expert advice and support – from your GP practice, from a local pharmacy and from our specialist NHS Stop Smoking Service which runs group sessions, one-to-one support and drop-ins. There is no reason not to give it a go. Call 0300 100 1823 for free advice on the support available.

If you are thinking about going smoke-free, call the local NHS Stop Smoking Helpline on 0300 100 1823 to find out what support is available close to you.